FULL WEEK +

This past week or so has been filled with some amazing things. I may geek out a bit on some aspects that you may not feel the urge to do the same happy dance over but bear with me please.

This past Monday I attended a master class on historic paint and wallcovering at Hampton Court Palace. It was amazing! Paint and wallcovering may sound super boring to some of you but the two tutors (not Tudors) , Patrick Baty & Allyson McDermott, were simply incredible. The work they have done based on the discovery of paint samples and bits of wallcovering is astounding. Patrick can take a core sample through a wall then magnify the layers of paint to determine past colors used and even the frequency refurbishing happened for a room. He can even look at the paint content and put a date to it! For example, there was an era when crushed blue glass was used in paint to give it a pale blue color and it was only used during a specific time period. So when he sees those specs of blue it is a clue. Who knew so much detective work would be involved in historic building conservation. I have always loved a good mystery and solving mysteries is so satisfying!

Allyson's focus on wallcovering has led her and her team to replicated wallcovering designs using historic processes. I have never been a huge fan of modern flocked wallcoverings but the historic ones are stunning. Historically the flocking was made of wool cut into very tiny pieces. Originally, the wool was cut by children using very sharp knives. Allyson uses a machine to do that part in the replication process. The patterns were cut out of wood and then printed with an animal glue substance and then the flocking is applied. It takes several days to dry and they do not even attempt to move the paper for a few weeks. After a month or so the paper is ready to be installed. Quite a process. Matching an existing historic wallcovering is tricky due to the natural fading process and the difference in the dyes used etc. etc. She has found pieces of wallcovering hidden in corners and behind fillets or altered building structures and used those pieces to recreate a wallcovering to match. I was in awe the whole time!

The palace was closed the day of our class but we got a private tour and it was so cool! The lights were off and the only light came from the windows, if the shutters were open, and flashlights. I completely expected to see ghosts as we wandered the halls and entered the chambers of so many historic royal persons. Unfortunately, no ghosts but I fully felt the history swirling around me. Seeing the palace without hoards of other visitors was splendid and magical.

WALLCOVERING PICTURES:
The first image is an enlargement of a piece of historic paper found on a project.
Next is Allyson's library of replicated and productions of papers.
The next two images show parts of the processes for creating the wallpaper. 
The remaining images are samples of replicated papers. The navy flocked was absolutely stunning in person!

PICTURES OF HAMPTON COURT - Minus any ghosts....or are they?
The first is a sculpture hanging in the Core Learning center where our class was held. They have a big thing with dragons at Hampton Court.
The following images are all from our tour around the palace and courtyards.